Her green eyes cloudy, she took another deep breath. “Of course. It’s okay. It’ll be lovely.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and moved away to take care of dinner.
CHAPTER 21
Juniper
Juniper did her best to push down the little ball of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She glanced at William, sitting comfortably as he tooled the Porsche through the Sydney streets. She felt the buildings closing in on her, the traffic congestion smothering her, the noise and smell invading her senses. She really did hate being in the city. Give her the pristine beach and fresh air of Blessed Inlet any day of the week. It wasn’t just the urban landscape troubling her, though. They were due to meet William’s family for lunch at twelve thirty, which she was quite looking forward to. It was the evening engagement that was feeding the ball of anxiety in her gut. Their visit was coinciding with a function William’s mother had organized to schmooze some corporate clients. It was exactly the kind of event her parents excelled at. They loved plastering those fake, frozen smiles on their faces and wining and dining. She may not have minded it, except that she was terrible at it, incapable of doing the business small talk, the fake interest, knowing what topics to avoid, which topics to specifically bring up with which person. She looked out the window as they drove down Henry Lawson Avenue, forcing her hands to unclench. She could do it. This wasn’t like when she wasyoung and single, going to these events on her own time and time again. She was older, wiser, more confident. William would be there. Plus, it was only one night.
“All good?”
“Sure.” She’d hardly spoken since they’d hit the outskirts of Sydney and she knew he’d noticed. God, why couldn’t she just get over it? She leaned forward to look through the windscreen at the boutique hotel nestled on the water’s edge at Lavender Bay. It was a tall, elegant column, all steel and thickened glass. Modern and chic. William steered the Porsche around the circular drive to the front of the hotel and parking, got out, handing the keys to the uniformed valet who had stepped forward with alacrity.
“Mr. Locke.”
“Good morning, Geoffrey. Are my parents in?”
“Not yet, sir.”
“Have me notified when they arrive.”
“Yes, sir,” he replied as he moved around to Juniper’s side of the car, opening the door for her. William put his hand on the small of her back as they walked through into the hotel lobby. It was expensive, was her first thought. Polished terrazzo flooring, long low creamy leather couches. Mixed in amongst the starkly modern furniture were antiques, juxtaposing the old with the new perfectly. William moved to the reception desk to give instructions for lunch before leading her to the bank of elevators. They whizzed up to the penthouse and she gasped as the elevator doors slid open directly into the suite. The floor-to-ceiling windows framed a view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Opera House, the iconic bay with its green and yellow ferries chugging back and forth, and Luna Park.
“Wow.”
William smiled at her. “It’s pretty great, hey. I never get sick of it.”
“It’s amazing. It’s all amazing.” She looked around at the suite, decorated in a soft palette of creams and beiges, elegant artwork adorning the walls, plump comfortable sofas facing a big screen television, antique coffee tables and side buffets filling out the rest of the space. “So this is where you live? All the time?” Somehow, she’d never realized he lived in a hotel permanently.
“Yes.”
There was no kitchen, just an antique buffet with a kettle, mini fridge and coffee machine. “Where do you keep the jaffle maker?”
He walked over to the buffet, opening one of the doors, waving his hand with a flourish. Inside was a jaffle maker, a bread bin and several cans of spaghetti. She burst out laughing and he grinned at her.
The elevator dinged, the doors opening to show a uniformed bellhop with their bags. Juniper moved to the windows as William dealt with the bellhop. Once he’d left, William came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. She sighed, leaning back and covering his hands with her own.
“I wonder what Billy is up to right now.”
“Playing in John’s workshop and wheedling cookies out of Nora,” William laughed.
Juniper sighed. “Probably.”
William kissed the top of her head. “We could have brought him with us.”
She shook her head. “No, this first time it’s better if he’s safe.” She regretted her choice of words as soon as she felt him stiffen behindher. He turned her to face him, crooking his finger under her chin when she tried to avoid his gaze. He searched her face for a long moment, concern and confusion clear in his eyes. Safe was a strange choice of words, she knew, seeing as how Billy would hardly be in danger with William’s family in Sydney. The point, however, that she was barely acknowledging even to herself, was that she didn’t feel safe. She felt a bit overwhelmed, anxious, cornered. She felt worried about the evening party, worried about how they were going to resolve their future together. Neither of them had really talked about it, mainly because she was avoiding it, what with their love still being a relatively new acknowledgement between them. But she knew that she wanted to marry him, spend her life with him, have his babies. She didn’t think she could do any of that in Sydney though, and there was the rub. She searched her mind for the right words to explain these feelings, but to her surprise, he leaned forward and brushed a tender kiss across her lips.
“I love you.”
It was the best reassurance he could give her. “I love you, too.” She smiled, “I’d better get changed.”
“You look fine as you are,” he protested.
She looked down at her dress, the soft floaty skirt in a rich berry red, the ties across the bodice, the puff sleeves. It was the sort of dress she wore all the time at home, but it wasn’t exactly Sydney chic. “That’s sweet,” she said, “but no. I won’t be long.”
She emerged from the bedroom twenty minutes later in grey slacks, a soft pink cashmere sweater with a boat neck, and low-heeled sandals. She’d tied her hair in a low ponytail and included silver hoop earrings. Minimal makeup completed the look. William turned from the window as she stepped out of the bedroom, looking her up and down. “Nice,” he said.
A certain note in his voice caught her. Pulling at the waistband of the sweater nervously, she said, “No?”
